I think that this whole thing with the elongated lifespan of these systems is only going to add to the draw to end development for the current gen faster. Ps4/xbox whatever/wii-u are all going to get phased in very quickly, and our current consoles are going to get phased out fast now. I don't see anything new coming out for the wii anymore, and I only here about how people are developing new console stuff. Ps2 lasted a good couple years after the triple was released, and xbox....well everyone was still playing ps2 anyway.

I have this feeling that this new console generation is going to have a bigger impact than any other....negative or otherwise. In any case, I think things are going to change soon.

This has been said before in the PS4 thread, I believe, but memory is a huge limiting factor on current consoles. 512 megs is just not enough (heck, phones have more than that these days...). This isn't just about graphics, it actually does limit what developers can do in there games. Especially if you like huge open-world type experiences.

Not to mention that Sony at least (and I wouldn't be surprised in MS does it too, but they obviously haven't said anything yet...) has been putting a big emphasis on the ease of development for their new system as well as reducing the red tape for indie devs. With a PC-style architecture and a much more indie-friendly ecosystem it should actually reduce development costs for the new systems for smaller devs. It's the big developers who feel like they're obligated to push graphics to the limit! and all that who are complaining about costs.

I really do think there are still substantial improvements to be made over the current-gen systems, but the next gen might actually be the last. Graphics are starting to get good enough that it's more about art budget than technical requirements. With one last push on the hardware side and improvements in the ease of development the next gen ought to be with us for a looooong time...

Oh christ, the last generation of consoles only had 512 megs of ram? What the HELL? Why? RAM is cheap. RAM doesn't give off a lot of heat.

512 MB was more expensive back when these things were first being made in 2005/2006/2007. And I doubt newer models ever got memory upgrades, just hard drive ones. Sure, that much is dirt cheap *now*, but instead of putting in more memory, they can afford to sell the consoles for less.

My 7 year old laptop has 512 MB of RAM. My 7 month old iPhone 5 has... twice that. If not more.

@Agent D.: Dunno how to feel about this "hunger" for new hardware that I've seen lately to be honest.

It's got me at an impass too. Everyone wants the next gen....but this gen hasn't done much to video games as a whole, just polished old shit basically. Sure, Uncharted was great, and MGR Rising was a nice little addition to action, and Motion Sensing has made (some kind of) impact on us all...but what do we really have to show for this generation? More competition regarding who can make the same game sell more, a bunch of old FPS games with new paint, the re-emergence of third person shooters, and the amazingly long awaited sequels to Street Fighter III (meh) and Marvel vs Capcom 2 (double meh). People are so eagerly awaiting the next generation....but this generation was just last generation with a facelift. Hell, some of the last gen stuff was better done too. Why rush to make these newer, prettier games that no one really sits down and enjoys anymore? When was the last time you stopped and actually took in your game? The subtle humor, the imaginative artistry, the silent hero whom you imagine yourself as and speak his lines of dialogue in your head. I think in terms of ground breaking gaming, the best we got was Mass Effect. It's almost as bad as tv these days, we get one fucking awesome show, and a billion fucking reality shits about 6 guido wannabes or a 6 year old piglet with a moron mother or another fucking talent show. (sorry, this last part is a bit america-only) Hey America, if we're so fucking talented, how about we make something that's actually entertaining or even impressive? How about we make a stride in video games again that isn't the amazing detail in Kasumi's breast physics?

Nah, next gen will be awesome, the big thing will be how men's packagaes actually adjust to compensate for movement.

@Taelus: I've never been attracted to the Xbox and Microsoft has never won my trust so I doubt that whatever they announce is gonna change any of that.

@Agent D.: With the amount of crybabies in the Internet the line of what a 'bad' or 'good' game is nowadays is divided by personal experience over time more than anything.

Best thing that anyone can do is try to have an open mind about things instead of being all hot and bothered that the new entry in a big franchise is not what you wanted (and besides that's a really selfish way to think).

@Ygg: That's the entire problem, people complain all to much nowadays. No opportunity to expand one's creative wings, in fear that funding will be cut due to a sudden backlash of nerdy fanboys who damn the project at the front gate. Because you know, these people who call shenanigans are well educated video game developers and have been selling their product for years with unequalled results.

I actually think I found out what this generation created for the video game industry. User influenced adaptations. This kind of shit where a sudden backlash of rabid fanboyism caused a developer to cave and adjust their game didn't exist 10 years ago.